Hockey India League helps improve the attractiveness of our sport: Tanguy Cosyns

Belgium and UP Rudras forward Tanguy Cosyns feels that the Hockey India League will bring an attractiveness to the sport that they have been lacking internationally. The HIL is making a return after a 7-year hiatus, with 8 teams in the men’s side and 4 for the women’s stars.
UP Rudras will be one of the sides who will be battling it out for the title in the men’s edition, with Cosyns expected to play a key role in their attack. A veteran of the game, the Belgian spoke to Indiatoday.in and said that playing with the best can bring a lot to the game in India. Cosyns feels that the game will present the Indian players with new problems to solve and help them become the best.
Also Read: Hockey India League full schedule, format, fixtures and teams
“I think the Indian League was there before and I think it proves the improvement of the Indian players. You see them growing internationally and I think it’s the most important thing you need to remind. Playing with the best players can bring a lot to India as foreign players as well because we need to understand the culture.”
“The hockey there is not the same as in Europe and I think for the Indian players it’s really important to be confronted with new problems and to solve them as players personally or training with them will teach them how to play the game in the future years with the national team maybe for the best players of India,” said Cosyns.
The Belgian forward will be one of the senior members of the squad, and he is eager to connect with the junior stars and help them gain clarity. Cosyns feels that it would be his task to help the youngsters in each game and help them reach their best level.
“Being one of the oldest players in the team, I will try to connect with them and try to bring them a lot of clarity and a lot of easy tips I can give.I think it’s my task to do it and to help them in every game to be the best player they can be at the Indian Hockey League,” said Cosyns.
Cosyns feels that the HIL will be a new way to view hockey as a sport that needs to be followed by people around the world and as a source of entertainment.
“I think the Hockey India League helps well for the attractiveness of our sports because I think we suffer a bit internationally to be attractive. To be an attractive sport and the Hockey India League is another way to see the game.”
“To see a lot of cultures playing together against other teams who have also a lot of different cultures. They are all playing together so for me it’s really interesting to see how the hockey can evolve as a sport globally and the Hockey India League is a good example to show to the world that hockey is a sport that needs to be followed by people around the world and also to see this sport as an entertainment.”
“Because when I’m watching a lot of sports like football, like tennis and I think hockey needs a refreshment and the league is a good part of renewing our sports and to see the best Indian players and the best foreign players playing against each other,” said Cosyns.
Defenders: Lars Balk, Kane Russell, Surender Kumar, Marc Recasens, Priyobarta Talem, Sunil Jojo, Sharda Nand Tiwari, Prashant Barla

Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Floris Wortelboer, Seve Van Ass, Manmeet Singh, Jobanpreet Singh

Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Alvaro Iglesias, Tanguy Cosyns, Gurjot Singh, Mohd. Zaid Khan, Sudeep Chirmako

Goalkeepers: Prashant Kumar Chauhan, James Mazarelo, Pankaj Kumar Rajak